Economic Development
Lifestyle
The Nashville region is an influential and energetic center of creativity, a place of growth and business and a place for community leaders.
Education
A city of poets, scientist, inventors, scholars and developers. Nashville highly values education and offers abundant options for learners in all stages of life.
Nashville has one of the fastest-growing and best-educated populations in the country. Known as the Athens of the South, the Nashville region is home to some of the nation’s top-ranking universities and high-performing K-12 education systems.
Top 7 high schools in Tennessee are located in the Nashville Region
U.S. News & World Report
K-12 Education
Middle Tennessee has more than 300,000 K-12 students with nearly 20,000 graduates each year. The Nashville region offers more than 450 public schools in 13 systems including more than 32 charter schools. Program highlights include: STEAM Middle and Elementary Schools, nationally recognized career academies, International Baccalaureate degree opportunities, foreign language programs including Chinese and Korean, Advanced Placement and dual enrollment courses, robotics and coding classes, career and technical education pathways, and more.
Other independent schools in the region include:
Catholic schools
Montessori schools
Schools for students with learning differences
K-6 Jewish Day School
Spanish language immersion school
Japanese Saturday school
Early learning centers
Learn more about the Nashville region’s public and private schools.
College life
With 18 colleges and universities, Nashville is home to more than 124,000 college students, the largest in a four-state region. Home to top-ranking universities: Vanderbilt University, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee State University, Lipscomb University, Belmont University, Austin Peay University, Tennessee Tech, Fisk University, Meharry Medical Collegevand many more. Each year, 26,OOO of these students graduate and 6O% remain in the Nashville region.
Nashville is full of young, creative talent with a median age of 36. Nashville consistently ranks in the top metros across the country for attracting young professionals, with millennials representing nearly 25 percent of talent here.
Learn more about the Nashville region’s colleges and universities and community colleges.
Free college for all
Tennessee is leading the nation in helping its resident access free college. Any graduating Tennessee high school student (tnpromise.gov) or adult without a degree (tnreconnect.gov) can attend two years, tuition-free at any of Tennessee’s community colleges or Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology.
92% average high school graduation rate in the Nashville MSA
NCES, 2018
Diversity
Our diverse, inclusive population creates a culturally competent community. Middle Tennessee is a rich assembly of people with widely varied backgrounds, experiences and interests.
Nashville understands the importance of diversity and inclusion with one in eight Nashvillians being foreign-born and international migration accounting for more than 20 percent of Nashville’s net in-migration from 2010 – 2018.
Diversity in the Nashville Region
Nashville is home to large Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Kurdish and South and Southeast Asian populations with a wide variety of international cultural and social organizations. More than 450 Nashville area businesses are also members of the coalition Tennessee Thrives, a partnership of businesses committed to a thriving Tennessee that welcomes all people.
10,000+ people from abroad move to the Nashville region every year.
Japan is Tennessee’s largest foreign investor nation.
The largest Kurdish community in the world outside the Middle East lives in Nashville.
1,500+ businesses owned by Hispanic entrepreneurs in Nashville.
Area colleges are home to more than 6,500 international students and scholars.
More than 120 different languages spoken in Metro Nashville Schools
Three historically black colleges in Nashville including Meharry Medical College, Tennessee State University, and Fisk University.
Nashville currently has 9 active Sister City relationships in 8 countries involving business, cultural and educational exchanges. These cities include Belfast, Northern Ireland; Caen, France; Chengdu, China; Edmonton, Canada; Kamakura, Japan; Magdeburg, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Taiyuan, China; and Tamworth, Australia.
The LGBT community in Nashville is strong and active
Dedicated Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce
OUTLOUD Music Festival, an annual LGBTQ+ music festival
Out and About monthly newspaper, with an audience of more than 150,000 people
16 Certified LGBTBE businesses
Nashville Pride, a nonprofit community education, event and advocacy organization, which also hosts the annual LGBT Pride Festival and Parade with 75,000+ annual attendees.
Orbitz named Nashville one of the 10 Hottest Gay Destinations for 2019.
Population growth by ethnicity
1 in 8 Nashvillians are foreign-born
Diverse flavors
Nations in our Neighborhoods
Plaza Mariachi & Mazfresco Market
Patel Brothers Indian Grocery
K&S World Market
InterAsian Market & Deli
Bangkok Market
Fresh & Fresh International Market
Apna Bazaar Aleksey’s Market
Tennessee Oriental Market
Azadi International Food Market
Uptown Fruit Market
Zomi Oriental Market
King Market
Sonobana Japanese Restaurant & Grocery
Newroz Market
La Hacienda Supermercado
The faith community in Nashville
2,3OO CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
22 CATHOLIC CHURCHES
21 MORMON CHURCHES
17 TEMPLES – BUDDHIST & HINDU
11 JEWISH SYNAGOGUES
11 ISLAMIC MOSQUES
9 JEHOVAH’S WITNESS KINGDOM HALLS
Creative Community
Nashville lives to build and create as exemplified by our vibrant urban core and intelligent, progressive creative community.
Nashville’s unparalleled creative community—with a mash-up of musicians, artists, writers, developers and designers—translates into a tech scene unlike any other in America.
Creative community in the Nashville Region
Nashville MSA is home to more than 630 arts, culture and humanities destinations
Affordable apartment residences with a preference for people pursuing a career in the arts
Nashville Made: a social enterprise celebrating and promoting Nashville makers and manufacturers
Nashville Fashion Week: an annual city-wide celebration of Nashville’s thriving fashion and retail community and its vast array of creative talent
425 downtown restaurants, bars, nightlife venues and coffee shops
13,000 residents live in downtown Nashville in more than 8,300 units (Projection of 20,000 residents downtown by 2023)
75,000 people work in more than 2500 businesses in the downtown core
Vibrant tech scene
62,876 tech jobs in the Nashville region with a $8 billion economic impact
51% tech job growth in Middle Tennessee from 2015-2020, outpacing national tech job growth by 32.0%
12% projected growth rate for tech jobs in Middle Tennessee (2020-2025), compared to 8% projected national tech job growth
90+ tech meetups throughout the region
Nashville ranked #8 of most arts-vibrant communities in America
(NCAR Arts Vibrancy Index, 2019)
Area Festival & Events
3686 Entrepreneurship Festival
African Street Festival
Americana Music Festival
Artober
Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
CMA Music Festival and Awards
Cherry Blossom Festival
Dickens of a Christmas
Earth Day Festival
First Saturday Art Crawl
Jefferson Street Jazz & Blues Festival
Live on the Green Music Festival
Music City Brewer’s Festival
Nashville Fashion Week
Nashville Film Festival
Nashville Hot Chicken Festival
Nashville Oktoberfest
Nashville Pride
Nashville Restaurant Week
Nashville Shakespeare Festival
Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival
Taste of Williamson
Tennessee Craft Fair
Tennessee State Fair
Uncle Dave Macon Days
Wilson County Fair
Community Impact
... and green living sustainable growth.
Service programs, philanthropic outreach and environmentally responsible development are embedded in the Nashville community, thanks to unwavering commitment from our leaders and our citizens.
Leading Community Service Initiatives
YP NASHVILLE
YP Nashville is a partnership initiative of the Nashville Area Chamber and young professional organizations working to engage, connect and empower young professionals to actively shape the future of the Nashville region. The goal of YP Nashville is to connect young professionals to diverse opportunities for networking, professional development and community involvement. Visit YPNashville.org to see more than 50 young professionals’ groups in the Nashville region.
HANDS ON NASHVILLE
One of the largest volunteer resource centers in the world, Hands On Nashville facilitates volunteer work for 700-plus Middle Tennessee nonprofits, schools, government agencies, faith-based organizations, civic groups and businesses. HON connects thousands of volunteers of all ages to more than 300 service projects each month. Hands On Nashville also manages a range of sustainability programs, including the Home Energy Savings Program, the Urban Farm Program and Nashville restoration projects.
UNITED WAY OF GREATER NASHVILLE
United Way is making a better Nashville by creating strategic, scalable solutions focused on education, financial stability, and health. In 2018, 1,635 volunteers gave their time at UW Days of Action. In 2018, United Way of Greater Nashville raised $27M to improve the lives of our Nashville neighbors.
GIVINGMATTERS.COM
GivingMatters.com is an initiative of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, which has served as a leader in philanthropy for more than 25 years, bringing good people and good causes together in 43 counties of Middle Tennessee and Kentucky. GivingMatters.com is an online database of high-quality, comprehensive information about more than 1,850 Middle Tennessee nonprofits.
URBAN GREEN LAB
Urban Green Lab ensures that the Nashville community is knowledgeable about sustainable living. Citywide partnerships focus on improving the lifestyle choices Nashvillians make every day and organize, train, and connect visionaries in classrooms, households, and workplaces so they feel empowered to teach others how and why to make more sustainable choices.
One-third of residents volunteer, ranking Nashville in the top 15 volunteer cities among other large cities.
Walkabale downtown center, free downtown bus circulator, wego intercity bus system, Music City Star suburban rail, Nashville B-Cycle bike-share system and rideshare services.
Neighborhoods
Pick your place
Middle Tennessee’s 1O-county region includes diverse industries, exciting entertainment and activities and unique residential options.
